Episode 01 - The Beginning Comes Suddenly
Late in the evening on June 3rd, a young girl in a wheelchair comes home to an empty house. On her answering machine is a single message from her doctor, who calls her Hayate and says they should celebrate her birthday tomorrow. The girl heads to her room and proceeds to spend the rest of the evening reading in bed. As the clock reaches midnight, a strange light starts to fill the room. Its source: an ornate book wrapped in chains, which rises into the air from a shelf where it was sitting. The chains binding it shatter as it moves towards the shocked Hayate. The book opens to reveal hundreds of blank white pages; an ominous voice speaks in another language* , saying that the seal has been released...
And now it is the first of December. Nanoha wraps up her early morning magical training with some shooting practice before heading inside for breakfast. As she sits down with her family, her brother hands her a newly-arrived package from Fate, with whom she's been corresponding regularly. Meanwhile, her sister complains that she misses Yuuno, who has now (allegedly) been returned to his owner. Nanoha says he might visit them again sometime; then privately wonders how he, Fate, and everyone else are doing right now.
Deep in dimensional space, the warship Arthra arrives at Time-Space Administration Bureau headquarters. On board, Chrono Harlaown is preparing Fate for the last day of her trial, which is tomorrow. Arf and Yuuno are with them, having been summoned to testify as witnesses. Chrono says that Fate is sure to be let off with, at worst, a few years' probation.
The Arthra's captain, Lindy Harlaown, gets an update from her colleague Admiral Leti, who mentions that Lost Logia incidents have been causing a lot of trouble lately. Right now they're waiting to hear back from some other agents who are off investigating. Chrono comes in to hear this, and acquires a grim expression. Meanwhile, Fate has returned to her quarters, where she looks happily at various pictures and letters she's received from Nanoha and her friends.
Back on Earth that night, a pair of TSAB agents are soundly defeated by a small girl wearing an elegant red dress and wielding a large hammer-shaped device. She dismisses them as small fry, but says their powers will help feed the Book of Darkness. She holds up a familiar-looking book, and moments later brief screams echo through the night...
The next day, Nanoha's friend Suzuka goes to the library after school, where she encounters a girl of around the same age in a wheelchair. The girl introduces herself as Hayate Yagami, and the two quickly make friends. When Hayate leaves the library later, she is picked up by a pair of women named Shamal and Signum. In response to Hayate's query, they mention that someone called Vita is off playing somewhere.
That evening, the young girl in red — Vita — is standing on an unusually-shaped magic circle in the air above the city. Next to her is a large wolf-like creature named Zafira, who asks how things are going. Vita says she's trying to locate the source of a powerful magical signature somewhere in the city. Holding the Book of Darkness, she says they could complete a large number of pages with that energy. The two split up, with Zafira going off to search elsewhere. Vita stares down at the city, then casts a magical barrier over the whole area.
Nanoha, in her room at home, immediately senses the barrier going up. At the same instant, Vita exclaims that she's located the power source, and heads downward. Moments later, Raising Heart warns Nanoha that something is approaching them at high speed.
Heading up to the roof of an office building, Nanoha sees a fast-moving magical projectile fly out of the sky straight at her. As she blocks it with a shield, Vita appears behind her and attacks. Nanoha manages to block this as well, but briefly falls off the roof in the process. Transforming, she flies back up and demands an explanation, but the only response is more attacks. Vita proves extremely fast and aggressive, and the battle quickly escalates until Nanoha fires a Divine Buster which blows the other girl's hat off. This drives Vita into a rage; she uses a strange cartridge to power up her device, transforming it into something resembling a rocket-powered drill. Her next attack blasts right through Nanoha's defenses and hurls her into a nearby building.
Nanoha tries to stand up and defend herself, but Vita's follow-through is relentless. Her supercharged hammer smashes through not just Nanoha's shield spells, but her barrier jacket as well. Nanoha collapses, unable to do anything but weakly raise a badly-damaged Raising Heart in front of her. As Vita raises her hammer for the final blow, Nanoha wonders if this is the end...
...and Vita suddenly finds Fate Testarossa standing in her way, Bardiche at the ready and Yuuno beside her. Vita narrows her eyes and asks if they're Nanoha's allies. Fate says they're friends — and steps forward to attack.
Tropes
- Berserk Button: Nanoha learns the hard way that you do not mess with Vita's hat.
- Big Damn Heroes: Fate and Yuuno arrive at just the right moment to save Nanoha from Vita's finishing blow.
- Clothing Damage: The outer layer of Nanoha's barrier jacket (the blazer portion) is destroyed by Vita's last attack.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Vita's outfit, which is actually the subject of some subtle foreshadowing. First, the doll-like skirt flutters around awkwardly when Vita is trying to hit Nanoha, briefly causing some unexpected exposure; second, when her striking but impractical hat gets blown off, Vita flies into a rage. These are both hints that the outfit was designed to be stylish, not to fight in.
- Hellish Pupils: Vita gets these when Nanoha blasts her hat off. They don't return to normal until she's beaten Nanoha into near-unconsciousness.
- Time Skip: The prologue takes place in June, and ends on a suspenseful note. After the title card, the present day is now early December, and we won't learn what happened in the interim for several more episodes.
- Translation Convention: The Book of Darkness speaks in German, as does Vita's device. The common theory (ultimately confirmed in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Detonation) is that it represents Ancient Belkan.
